The Minnesota Fringe Festival shared a press release about last night’s end of festival Golden Lanyard Awards, plus information on additional opportunities to see Fringe shows again, five live encore performances at the Phipps in Hudson, WI later this week (Wednesday through Sunday 8/14 to 8/18) and access to video recordings of select shows as part of the Fringe Hangover for 11 days next month (9/12 to 9/22).
The awards provide an overview of a wider range of shows than I was able to see (though I did see quite a few of the names on this list, which is more than I often do :)
Here’s the press release with commentary and informational links from me:
2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival
Golden Lanyard Award Winners, Encore Performances at the Phipps, and the Fringe Hangover
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Minnesota Fringe recently completed its 31st annual festival featuring local, national, and international artists in over 500 performances and filling more than 20,000 seats at a variety of theaters throughout the city August 1-11. The closing night party at Can Can Wonderland in St. Paul opened with a rousing speech from Representative Ilhan Omar from Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives promising in advance of the August 13th primary to “always fight to provide investments to help artists in our community thrive.”
Awards were given to 30 notable festival participants, including a patron and theater technician:
Audience-driven Awards
Spirit of the Fringe:
The "Fringiest" production who made the boldest choices, took the most risks, or took audiences on an adventure
"A First-Class Comedic Revue... Featuring the Reanimated Corpse of a Wright Brother" by an alleged Theatre Company
(alleged Theatre Company was in my Fringe Top 20 back in 2019, but didn’t get a chance to do a returning favorite write-up on pre-Fringe this year - not a lot of down time from the two day jobs in July so I only got to write about 16 of the 33 returning artists who’d been on one of my previous Top 20 lists - you’ll see this is a theme below - also the scheduling puzzle didn’t line up for me and I didn’t get a chance to see the show - but maybe it’s in the Fringe Hangover and I can catch it online next month. We shall see.)
Audience Picks:
Audience favorite productions
"The Dumb Waiter" by Jackdonkey Productions
(Here’s another former Top 20 list returnee, from 2023, which I didn’t get to write up pre-Fringe, or see during the festival.)
"Beanie Baby Divorce Play" by Melancholics Anonymous
(Melancholics Anonymous has been on a roll with sold-out Fringe shows the past few years. So sold-out that I and many others couldn’t get in. I’ll keep an eye out to see if they’re part of the Fringe Hangover videos next month. The stage manager on the production, Maren Findlay, is one of the Literary Associates I work with at Threshold Theater. And another Threshold Literary Associate, Kate Cosgrove, was in the Melancholics’ production earlier this year which I did see - 5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche.)
"A First-Class Comedic Revue... Featuring the Reanimated Corpse of a Wright Brother" by an alleged Theatre Company
(See prior note under Spirit of the Fringe section.)
Venue Picks:
The top selling production at each Fringe-managed venue.
(I’m shuffling these between those I got a chance to see and those I didn’t.)
Shows I didn’t get to see:
"Hugo and Maeve Join A Cult!" by Alex Stokes / Sky Blue Productions at Bryant Lake Bowl
"Last Pitch Effort" by Sara McCabe at HUGE Improv Theater
"The Life Robotic" by Playabunga Productions at Mixed Blood Theatre (featuring a Fringe returning favorite I did get a chance to write about, Michael Rogers, as the Robot)
Shows I got to see:
"Interstella 5555: A Daft Punk Discovery" by Funk Haus Theater at Barbara Barker Center for Dance (a 5-star show I saw on Fringe Day 6)
"5 x 5" by Transatlantic Love Affair at Open Eye Theatre (a 5-star show I saw on Fringe Day 5)
"A Horse Walks Out Onto the Stage and Dies" by Theatre On The Rocks at Phoenix Theater (a 5-star favorite of mine I reviewed, and saw three times)
"All the Hullabaloo" by Corpus Dance Works at Southern Theater (another 5-star favorite of mine I reviewed, and saw twice)
"Love Lies a Bleeding" by Vee Signorelli at Strike Theater (a 5-star show I saw on Fringe Day 9)
"Yo-Ho-Hum: A Pirate's Midlife Crisis" by Hey Rube! at Theatre in the Round Players (TRP) (a 5-star show I saw on Fringe Day 10)
Fringe with Benefits Member Pick:
A special selected by Fringe with Benefits members
"Daddy Issues" by Pretend Productions (a 5-star show I saw on Fringe Day 7)
Artist-driven Awards
Artist Picks:
Artist selected production showcasing artistic achievement
"5 x 5" by Transatlantic Love Affair (noted above in the Venue awards list)
"As Above, So Below" by Michael Rogers (a 5-star show I reviewed, the second this year from returning Fringe favorite Michael Rogers, already part of the Venue awards list above for his other show The Life Robotic)
"Good Ones" by Shambles Theatre Company (here’s yet another returning favorite I didn’t have the chance to write up pre-Fringe, different company name but many of the artists involved in this one presented 2023’s “A Jingle Jangle Morning”)
Underdog Award:
First time producer at Minnesota Fringe taking bold risks.
"A Horse Walks Out Onto the Stage and Dies" by Theatre On The Rocks (noted above in the Venue awards list)
Staff-driven Awards
(Again shuffled by me into groups of shows I got a chance to see or didn’t get a chance to see.)
Shows I didn’t get to see:
"The Greenhouse" by Eye of Jupiter Theatre
"VILE" by Francesca Montanile Lyons
Shows I got to see:
"Welcome To The Food Chain" by Beta Fish Productions (a 4-star show I saw on Fringe Day 8)
"A Number" by W.A.S. Productions (a 5-star show I reviewed)
"The Light Bringer" by Light Bringer Productions (a 4.5-star show I saw on Fringe Day 3)
But Wait There's More
(Again shuffled by me into groups of shows I got a chance to see or didn’t get a chance to see.)
Shows I didn’t get to see:
“Tragedy of Maila Kami" by Majhuwa Bagar Jana Kala Manch (Fringe-spiration)
"Seance Sisters" by Rebecca Wickert (Technical Magic) (Because this was tagged as a touring show, I didn’t make the connection that the Anna Sullivan in the cast was the same Anna Sullivan in Threshold Theater’s production of "4Play With Threshold Theater" this past spring. Sorry to have missed it.)
"Holy O" by Lauren Hance of Out of Mind Productions (Triple Threat)
Shows I got to see:
"Close Call: A How-Not-To Guide to Being a POS" by Navel Gaze Productions (Sign of the Times) (a 5-star show I saw on Fringe Day 5)
"IMP presents Collidescope" by The Improv Movement Project (Fringey AF) (a 4.5-star show I saw on Fringe Day 10)
Special Awards
The Beverlee Award honors the legacy of Beverlee Everett, mother of theater reviewer and playwright Matthew Everett. Each summer, Beverlee made the trip from Pennsylvania to Minnesota to tenaciously "Fringe-binge" with Matthew. Beverlee was a warm and wonderful presence to all who knew her. Our Fringe flame burns darker in her absence.
Andrew Troth
(Our first male Beverlee Award winner :)
The Bryon Award honors the legacy of long-time Fringe Festival Theater Technician, Bryon Gunsch. As the Technical Director of the Bryant Lake Bowl Theater for over 20 years, Bryon was an essential member of their team as well as ours. This award will be bestowed on the Festival Tech who demonstrates Bryon's abundant creativity and resourceful ability to make theater magic with humble resources. The stage lights are dimmer in his absence.
Andy Tollin
“The Minnesota Fringe Festival is a critical component of the bedrock of our performing arts community,” notes Executive Director Dawn Bentley. “We’ve seen many theater and dance organizations struggle since the pandemic and several close in just the past year. Each year, we throw the theater doors wide open for artists and audiences to celebrate the performing arts in a time when it has become increasingly difficult to find and fund this type of adventurous work.”
In addition to this celebration, select performances from the festival will be featured August 14-18 at The Phipps Center for the Arts. The Fringe Encore at the Phipps line-up includes:
Wednesday, August 14th @ 7:00pm
“The Flowers You Gave Me” by Willmeng Dances
(One of the dance shows I didn’t get a chance to see this year.)
Thursday, August 15th @ 7:00pm
“Once Upon A Pine: The Adventures of Pinocchio” by Sugar Throw Theatre
(A 3-star show I saw on Fringe Day 6)
Friday, August 16th @ 7:00pm
“The Dumb Waiter” by Jackdonkey Productions
(Noted above in the Audience picks for Favorite shows)
Saturday, August 17th @ 7:00pm
“Daddy Issues” by Pretend Productions
(Noted above in the Fringe With Benefits award category)
Sunday, August 18th @ 2:00pm
“A Horse Walks Out Onto the Stage and Dies” by Theatre On The Rocks
(Noted above in the Venue awards list)
Details and tickets can be found at https://thephipps.org/events/fringe.
For those who crave even more, the Fringe Hangover will take place September 12-22 featuring online digital presentations of shows recorded live during the 31st annual Minnesota Fringe Festival. Ticket prices are set by the producers and 100% of proceeds directly support the participating artists. More information can be found at https://minnesotafringe.org/event-calendar/fringe-hangover and shows will be presented on the Minnesota Fringe Pennant TV channel at https://minnesotafringe.pennant.tv/.
NEW update: the audition notice is up for my new play "Spellbound" with Threshold Theater (production spring 2025) - come join us!
Here's some handy links to coverage of shows I've seen in the Fringe this year getting 5 and 4.5 stars (Very Highly Recommended), 4 and 3.5 Stars (Highly Recommended) as well as the shows ranking 3 stars or less; also links to this year's Top 10 list and Top 11-20 list, also a full list of all returning favorites to this year's Fringe, plus a link to ALL the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.
While I have your attention, please VOTE :)
The final day to
vote in the Minnesota primary (U.S. Senate,
Congress, school board, etc.) is TOMMORROW, Tuesday, August 13th, so find your polling place and go vote :)
Early voting for the Presidential Election itself in Minnesota starts on Friday, September 20th.
We're lucky to have a lot of time to get our voices heard, so cast your
vote, and then make sure everyone you know and love is registered and
gets to the polls to vote. Election Day, your final date to vote, is Tuesday, November 5th.
As a queer playwright and theater maker, I want a government that's compassionate and competent enough to keep us all safe and healthy, keep theaters open and running, and personally, I'd just like to be legal myself and keep the weirdos out of government and out of my personal business (and the things I post on this blog, for instance). We all have our reasons, so let's make sure we get the leaders we need and deserve, and get our friends, family and co-workers to raise their voices, too.
Find where to vote and what's on your ballot (with links to candidate websites) and other resources at the Minnesota Secretary of State's website.
For other resources on how to register, volunteer or donate, locally or nationally, check out Vote Save America.
Vote. Raise your voice. We're not going back.
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